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Average User Score: 5 (74 sources)

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LaidBack4Life

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Even though I didn't play the game and have no idea what it's about this film just a big disappointment. Kinda wack story and of course an immortal hero :-\

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Posted jun 3, 2009 4:42 am pt

mizasterj

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I dont know what everyones whining about ok yah so the movie wasnt nearly as impactful as the game, but the way I see it, the film was pretty well handled.

It reminded me alot of the game, although i admit im not a big fan, and have...
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I dont know what everyones whining about ok yah so the movie wasnt nearly as impactful as the game, but the way I see it, the film was pretty well handled.

It reminded me alot of the game, although i admit im not a big fan, and have never completed the game, I still rather enjoyed the movie.

Your complaining about Mark Wahlberg as Max? who were you expecting Edward Norton? well it could been alot worse they could have chosen Ben Afflack ( hachhu! i mean Benjamin Affleck ) Ok im only kidding, but seriously what have you got against Marky Mark?

Hes been the star of some pretty intense films, and has proven he can do action scenes quite well. So you say its not Mark's fault its the rest of the cast? O'Donnel,Mila Kunnis, Beau Bridges, and Ludacris? Ok that does sound a little rediculous, but i still think it worked out ok.

Sure sure the casting should have been much better, but try to look past that.

It stands up really well as an action thriller with suspense and a little bit of mystery. Its basicaly a cold hearted revenge tale of a good guy gone bitter.

the Special FX arenice and shiny, they look well done and just overall pretty fun to watch.

The story, well considering this is based on a video game, Id say not bad, but I know people are going to think im making excuses for it. Ok look im really trying not to. I honestly had fun watching this, as I do most anything with Mark.

So everyone seems to think they ruined the plot or didnt capture the mood and atmosphere of the game, well maybe they can make up for it in the sequel?

Just try to be thankful they even made the film, alot of really great games get over looked. Metal Gear Solid, Ninja Gaiden , Prince of Persia.

Im sure casting for the lead in a game to movie adaptation is hard enough, let alone the supporting cast. Im lookin forward to Max Payne 2, even if noyone else is.

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Posted may 8, 2009 3:06 am pt

quiksilver9774

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I haven't played the game but everyone said it was a good game and the trailer looked promising so I gave it a shot. I was hoping it would at least be an average movie but I was wrong. It was just bad. The thing that drives Max throughout the...
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I haven't played the game but everyone said it was a good game and the trailer looked promising so I gave it a shot. I was hoping it would at least be an average movie but I was wrong. It was just bad. The thing that drives Max throughout the movie is that he wants to find his wife's killer. So he investigates, intimidates and shoots people to find out the truth. The action is not all that great and it seems like they didn't even try with the plot. I haven't seen it in a while and I don't exactly remember all the bad things with this movie but I really don't even want to remember. Save yourself some time and skip this movie.

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Posted feb 2, 2009 7:17 am pt

delta_116326

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Better than i though it would be but still Mediocre. i Though the movie was going to go into mythological creatures flying around but thats just something to due with the drug the plot is based around.

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Posted jan 25, 2009 11:32 am pt

punisherwarzone

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I THINK THAT THE MOVIE DID NOT FOLLOW THE GAME AS MUCH AS I HAD HOPED THE PLOT OF IT WAS GOOD AND THE COLORS MADE IT MORE GRITTYER WICH I LIKED AND I HAVE TO ADMIT MARK WHALBERG WASINT THE BEST CHOICE FOR ROLE OF MAX PAYNE BUT WHO ELSE WAS GONNA...
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I THINK THAT THE MOVIE DID NOT FOLLOW THE GAME AS MUCH AS I HAD HOPED THE PLOT OF IT WAS GOOD AND THE COLORS MADE IT MORE GRITTYER WICH I LIKED AND I HAVE TO ADMIT MARK WHALBERG WASINT THE BEST CHOICE FOR ROLE OF MAX PAYNE BUT WHO ELSE WAS GONNA DO IT. MILA KUNIS WAS A ALRIGHT CHOICE FOR MONA SAX BUT MAX AND MONA DID NOT HAVE THE SAME BOND THAT THEY DID IN THE GAME AND I REMEMBER MONA BEING OLDER BUT OVER ALL IT WAS A GOOD MOVIE AND I HOPE THEY DO BETTER ON 2

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Posted jan 17, 2009 3:41 pm pt

XanderKage

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I'll start by saying that people who haven't played Max Payne games might like the movie (though it's not likely). But compared to the game the movie is just BAD. First of all the movie twists the awesome plot of the (first) game, so it really...
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I'll start by saying that people who haven't played Max Payne games might like the movie (though it's not likely). But compared to the game the movie is just BAD. First of all the movie twists the awesome plot of the (first) game, so it really feels like it just "borrowed" ideas from the movie.. I understand that you can't translate all 15+ hours of gameplay into 2 hours of movie scene-by-scene... But it feels like someone took the great plot of the game, broke it down to fragments, and then stuck them together in a much, much, much worse way.
Second, some key elements that made the game so good are missing. Mainly, the narration by Max. It gave that noir note to the game's plot, but in the movie it's just missing. And it's not like there isn't any room for it - there's plenty of that, but nothing... Another key element is Bullet Time. There are numerous missed oportuneties to use it, and the scenes it is utilized in are extremely lame. Max's signature dual Berettas also fail to make an appearence. Not cool. Third, the movie just sucks, regardless of the game. I mean seriously, you watch it, and in places you just think "Wow, that was lame". For example I seriously doubt that someone would drink a vial of hallucinogenic drug to get warm after falling into a frozen river... Plus the acting in the movie won't blow you away.
With that said, there are good moments in the movie. I really like how all that seemingly-supernatural stuff was worked into the movie (once again, regardless of the game).
So all-in-all, Max Payne is a half-decent movie, made even worse by the fact that it gives absolutely no justice to the epic game it's based upon.

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Posted jan 12, 2009 2:19 am pt

amr_ali_medicin

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its not that good movie,i thoght it first to be cool and science fiction as i like,but it appeared to be hallucinations and drugs!!!
what drug make u strong and owner of world and those birds or dark angels who appears,..

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Posted dec 28, 2008 5:28 am pt

Honey88foru

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Max Payne (2008) - 3/10; Where do I start with this one! You know, I always used to wonder why Godzilla fans hate the American remake so much. Leave it to this movie to explain that to me. I have never hated a movie so much.

The...
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Max Payne (2008) - 3/10; Where do I start with this one! You know, I always used to wonder why Godzilla fans hate the American remake so much. Leave it to this movie to explain that to me. I have never hated a movie so much.

The director, what's his stupid name, took a beautiful game and made the ugliest movie that could be made, out of it. The only thing he manages to do is capture the visual essence of the movie. That's it. The snowing, the dark, the filthy underbelly of the city, (de?)saturated colors all line up perfectly with my vision of the movie. That's as far as it goes.

After the initial wow! of seeing Max Payne come to life withers out, there is absolutely nothing and I mean . Scenes cut to one another, not because of the story, but because Moore wants to show you an individual element from the game. Scene 1: The white cardboard boxes. Scene 2: The dock. Scene 3: Ragnarok and that's how it goes.

The acting is so pathetic you feel like throwing up. Not one single actor in this movie does any sort of justice to the word acting. They should all be banned from the industry. Apparently, Take Two isn't impressed either. I feel you guys.

If a theater near you is screening this movie, burn it down, blow it up, demolish it, ground it to fine powder and send it to another dimension from far away. Don't even think about going near it. Please don't flame (?) me for this highly contemptuous review I'm suicidally depressed.

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Posted dec 25, 2008 3:14 pm pt

westcoastwillam

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I love the max payne games i'll start with thats,and this movie did not do any justicde at all for the games sometimes it was A good movie visualy byt other than that i didn't like the casting(except mila Kunis) and I think no one played the game...
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I love the max payne games i'll start with thats,and this movie did not do any justicde at all for the games sometimes it was A good movie visualy byt other than that i didn't like the casting(except mila Kunis) and I think no one played the game before they made this film if they would have they may have given it justice

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Posted dec 25, 2008 10:43 am pt

Agulf

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Many will disagree, but a voice of reason needs to be heard in this sea of hate. Only one opinion has been expressed so far across the board regarding this movie. I went to see this movie with very low expectations (hearing it was one of the worst...
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Many will disagree, but a voice of reason needs to be heard in this sea of hate. Only one opinion has been expressed so far across the board regarding this movie. I went to see this movie with very low expectations (hearing it was one of the worst movies ever made before I saw it) and I must agree that at first I complained about how it didn't follow the game story line perfectly and spent my time nitpicking - but after a while I just let my guard down and watched the movie for what it was - not what it should or could be. It came to the point where I was actually looking forward to coming scenes because I wanted to see what stuff from the game they would keep or alter. The base story line from the game remains the same: Max Payne has a wife and kids, someone kills them, and he's out for revenge. I've already stated I won't base my review on the fact that it doesn't follow the game storyline perfectly. Nor will I base it upon the use of fake snow that some people have touched on - but just for the record the snow does set up the atmosphere very well in giving the movie an underlying, unimplied tone of "ragnarok". What I will point out however is that my only real gripe with the movie was that it seemed too "friendly". I would have wanted a more gritty feel to it - for example, the drugs are not being injected but consumed though a vial - this gives the movie a very "clean" feel, and this doesn't really fit with the overall setting. The acting is also lacking in some places which brings it down. Storyline elements are explained in non excessive detail, and the ragnarok-like atmosphere combined with some kind of "kafka"-feeling this quest for revenge was an overall enjoyable experience.

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Posted nov 22, 2008 9:55 pm pt

• [+] Seattle Post-Intelligencer
  
  67
  A dumb film with a great conceptual hook from a director who visualizes better than he dramatizes.

  by Sean Axmaker | Read Full Review »
• [+] TV Guide
  
  63
  For a movie of its type, Max Payne is a little short on excitement and heavy on pathos.

  by Cammila Albertson | Read Full Review »
• [+] Film Threat
  
  60
  Simple, it is as by-the-books formulaic as can be, and there's not a surprise around that the corner that isn't obvious immediately.

  by Mark Bell | Read Full Review »
• [+] The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
  
  50
  Max Payne, game or movie, has precious little to say.

  by Rick Groen | Read Full Review »
• [+] New York Post
  
  50
  The attempts to out-Matrix "The Matrix," with bullet-time super-slo mo, are staged with such theatrics that they're unintentionally funny. This movie also has "Blade Runner" on its mind, and Raymond Chandler, but mostly it's a weak little sister to "Sin City."

  by Kyle Smith | Read Full Review »
• [+] ReelViews
  
  50
  The film provides ample opportunity to attack the MPAA's hypocrisy. Max Payne is a bloodbath, yet it manages a PG-13 rating by keeping the explicitness of the killings just a whisker shy of what would be necessary for an R.

  by James Berardinelli | Read Full Review »
• [+] Time
  
  50
  At least in a video game the player decides who needs to be killed, and what trail to take in the labyrinth. The Max Payne moviegoers are passive hostages on a long ride they've taken so many times before.

  by Richard Corliss | Read Full Review »
• [+] The Onion (A.V. Club)
  
  42
  In a post-Matrix, post-John Woo world, a handful of slow-motion shootouts shouldn't be all that's on offer.

  by Scott Tobias | Read Full Review »
• [+] The New York Times
  
  40
  Max's righteous anger finds various allies and targets, though it is not always clear who is which. They are played by Mila Kunis, Beau Bridges and Ludacris with just enough panache and expressiveness to uphold the (increasingly irrelevant) distinction between a movie and a video game.

  by A.O. Scott | Read Full Review »
• [+] Austin Chronicle
  
  40
  A film that feels far too familiar for the likes of Wahlberg to juice up, hallucinatory valkyries or no.

  by Marc Savlov | Read Full Review »
• [+] Empire
  
  40
  This tired, neutered action thriller won't cause you max pain, but you might wince every now and again.

  by Staff (Not credited) | Read Full Review »
• [+] Charlotte Observer
  
  38
  The best way to sit through Max Payne is by using minimal brain.

  by Lawrence Toppman | Read Full Review »
• [+] Baltimore Sun
  
  38
  What kills Max Payne is that the characters think and feel in slow motion. Half the time, mentally, they're just running in place.

  by Michael Sragow | Read Full Review »
• [+] USA Today
  
  38
  Max Payne couldn't be more appropriately named. Sitting through this stylish-looking but derivative, vacuous and bullet-riddled movie inflicts maximum pain.

  by Claudia Puig | Read Full Review »
• [+] The Hollywood Reporter
  
  30
  A banal revenge melodrama-cum-detective story, but fans of the video game on which it is based should not be alarmed.

  by Kirk Honeycutt | Read Full Review »